Through the Gate

We commission Shelter to run our Through the Gate (TTG) service in Merseyside.

The service we commission aims to assess the needs of people in the prisons across the area we cover so that they are supported up to and following release. The aim is to help people to successfully rehabilitate in their community. TTG is supported by the individual’s case manager.

Our Through the Gate service makes sure that each prisoner has a resettlement plan, and has activity starting before their release to prepare them for leaving jail. Our aim is to make sure that they do not reoffend.

The Through the Gate service aims to work with prisoners to carry out an analysis of an individual’s circumstances with regards to their needs within the seven custodial pathways identified to reduce reoffending, eg:

accommodation

finance, benefit and debt

employment, training and educational advice

health

drugs and alcohol

children and families

attitudes, thinking and behaviours.

Information from all pathways and interventions is contained within the resettlement plan which follows the individual through the gate for continued support post release.

Through the Gate also includes:

a crisis intervention service

a resettlement meeting if timescales allow

the chance to liaise with the offender’s probation case manager prior to release to ensure a smooth transition

to identify any offenders with histories of being a victim of domestic abuse and/or having worked in the sex trade and offer specialist support